Fergie salutes hero De Gea

United stopper David de Gea dives at the feet of Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema

Real Madrid 1 Manchester United 1

The Spanish keeper returned to Madrid and produced a string of outstanding saves as Fergie's men secured an impressive 1-1 draw in their crunch Champions League showdown.

Warned United are now slight favourites to make it through to the quarter-finals.

But Real boss Jose Mourinho warned Fergie he is still capable of ruining his European dream after Cristiano Ronaldo scored a magnificent goal to equalise Danny Welbeck's opener for United.

Former Atletico Madrid keeper De Gea was in sparkling form as United found themselves under immense pressure.

The visitors made a dream start when Welbeck headed them ahead on 20 minutes to stun home side.

But Ronaldo levelled for the Spanish giants with an unstoppable header 10 minutes later.

Fergie said: "He (De Gea) has been improving all season. There was one save in the first half which he touched on to the post, it was superb.

"I'm pleased for him because he's a former Atletico boy playing here in Madrid. He has done well. Before the game we would have taken 1-1 without question.

"It's a difficult place to come to. Their home record is outstanding. In the first half I was a bit disappointed at how deep we defended.

"It gave Real chances, but fortunately De Gea was excellent. He made three or four top saves.

"We kept making chances though and hopefully we don't regret that. The away goal is important, but it's not finished.

"Real are a fantastic counter-attacking team and I look forward to it. At Old Trafford we have to be more positive in terms of the selection of team, but we have goals in the team and you must remember that."

Real dominated the second half but United came closest to winning it with Robin van Persie having a shot cleared off the line.

The Dutchman also saw an effort hit the crossbar before Diego Lopez's superb save denied him in stoppage-time.

Ronaldo went into the United dressing room after the game to see his former team-mates and Fergie added: "I spoke to him. He is sitting in our dressing room, talking to the lads.

"He had six years with us and I am proud of how he's flourished. For his goal I blamed (Patrice) Evra for not challenging him until I saw the replay and I felt a bit stupid.

"On the replay, his kneecap is about as high as Evra's head - phenomenal. I've seen it before, in Rome, and I don't think any other player in the world can do that, certainly not (Lionel) Messi."

Ronaldo said: "It was a tough game. They are a very strong team defensively. We played better and deserved to score more goals.

"I played in Manchester for six years. They welcomed me when I was a child and it's very special to play against them.

"I have a lot of respect for them. We will have chances in the second leg. We always try to take the initiative."

Mourinho might now have to win in Manchester to save his job as the pressure on him mounts, but he said: "I still think it's 50-50.

"I don't mind playing the second leg away from home. We know we need to score and if we do that, we will be ahead.

"I'm 100 per cent sure we can do this. We're in a perfect position to score goals at Old Trafford. Many teams have gone there and scored, but not many teams have the attacking threat we have.

"We had enough chances to score more than one goal and had all the initiative. We played a team with a lot of players at the back but I won't criticise what they did. They came to defend.

"I don't think, with the British culture, that United will play with all their defenders in their half, as they did here.

"United did their job well, but they have very important attacking players who can score from nothing. Even with the game they played, they had chances to win, and they will go home happy."